Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 4-17-20

An Executed Scoundrel ESTHER 7:1-10 (KJV)
tred against the Jews. Unfor- tunately, when he entered the banquet of the queen, he was unaware of her identity as a Jewish woman. The king had already proclaimed that he was both willing to hear and approve her requests, which is evidence that God had hon- ored the prayers and fasting to provide her with favor from the king even before she made her requests known.
The king boldly states, “What is your petition? It will be given to you.” Esther re- quests that the King save her people from annihilation and makes the case that if her peo- ple were sold into slavery that she would have kept quiet. She emphasizes this is not be- cause the Jewish people have offended the government but because the hatred and preju- dice of one man is the poten- tial cause of their destruction.
Haman’s Demise (vv. 7-10)
Once the king realizes what Haman had done, he be- comes outraged. The king in his anger walks to the garden to cool off and comes to the realization that Haman fooled him. Haman is afraid as what was at one point a banquet of joy quickly turned into terror as he realized that he was in the line of judgment.
Haman, a once proud noble, finds himself at the foot of the woman he wished to destroy; the roles were now reversed. God’s rule declares that those who choose to per- secute God’s chosen ones will ultimately become beholden to them.
As Haman pleads for his life, the king enters, more en- raged, and the King’s servants
quickly covered Haman’s face. It was practice to cover the face of the one who was condemned to death because the Persian kings refused to look at them. The king then orders that the pole Haman had built to be the demise of
Mordecai should become the measure by which his own life is taken.
Haman’s prejudice and hatred are what led to his de- struction. Mordecai is now given the position of honor, and Haman the execution.
The Scriptures
Esther 7:1 So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen.
2 And the king said again unto Esther on the sec- ond day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom.
3 Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my peo- ple at my request:
4Forwearesold,Iand my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bond- men and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not counter- vail the king’s damage.
5 Then the king Aha- suerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?
6 And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
7 And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.
8 Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also be- fore me in the house? As the word went out of king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
9 And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said be- fore the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon.
10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Morde- cai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified.
Background
Here in this passage, we find Esther making her plea and request to King Xerxes, also called Ahasuerus. The story of Esther began in 483
BC, which was 103 years after Nebuchadnezzar took the Jewish people into captivity. Mordecai’s family went into exile from Jerusalem because of Nebuchadnezzar.
Although Jews did show honor and reverence to gov- ernment officials, Mordecai could not extend that same honor to Haman. As a result, Haman plotted to kill Morde- cai and all the Jews, which is why Esther found herself pleading with King Xerxes to reverse the decree to kill all the Jews.
Esther’s Petition (Esther 7:1-6)
Esther hosted two ban- quets and invited the King to bring Haman to each. Esther 7 records the events of the second banquet and Esther’s hopes of pleading with the king to save the lives of her people and Mordecai. But it was not an easy task. Esther understood that she had min- imal rights as a queen.
The text does not men- tion the name of God; how- ever, it assumes that in her fasting it was God who had covered her as she prepared herself to ask the king her re- quest. Esther was going up against not only the power of the king’s decree, but also Haman, the most powerful noble in the land.
Haman had a direct ha-
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